The following is a guest post by Claudia “Claud” Steen
I’ve spent most of my life in Whittier. I moved here at the age of six, went to school here, and I’m even a student at Whittier College. When I accepted my internship with the Biennial through Whittier Works, I knew that I would be in for interesting and exciting work, but little did I know the scope of what was really to come; from discovering the thriving network that exists in my community to the truly exciting work that happens in the Biennial. I have worked on gallery events and speaker panels, the beginning of the PARA/archive, and have gotten to meet so many of the incredibly talented people who call the Biennial home. Of all the things I’ve done, I’ve found the most value in two of the projects I’ve worked on: the Whittier Center for the Arts and the Whittier College Ghost Tour.
To start with the former, working on the proposal for an arts and culture center in my hometown has been inspiring, to say the least. Throughout the proposal’s process, I’ve seen my community come together in so many ways. We’ve met with local nonprofits, my college has gotten involved with the project, and everyday people have voiced their support and complete enthusiasm for the center. Being part of this process has been incredibly rewarding and makes me hungry for more. This project has shown me that you can do anything, and that there is truly no limit to what you can accomplish in your community.
I feel that the energy of this project is what has propelled me so far into the latter. The Whittier College Ghost Tour has been the defining project for my internship; I’ve had complete agency in the research, design, and proposal for what I hope will be something that truly brings people into the heart of Whittier College. I’ve spent countless hours researching the history of the land from Tongva Sejatngna (Seh-HAHT-gna), to Pio Pico’s governance, to the Quaker settlement and roots of the College. During my research, I found myself down a rabbit hole of all the memorials at Whittier College. Despite them being almost unheard of, they can be found all over campus, oftentimes in places students visit or pass by daily. Being a Metaphonian, I was aware of the two memorials we had for sisters who had passed in college (Miss Margo Latif and Miss Dee Hochstetter); however, after a conversation I had with one of my sisters, I felt prompted to delve even deeper into other memorials on campus. That’s when I learned about The Walkers, The Lou Henry Hoover Building, and the Lancer Memorial Chapel.
The more I come to learn about the memorials on campus, the more my idea of what a Whittier College Ghost Tour could look like changes. The plan had always been to create a two-part ghost tour: the first part a free tour highlighting the lesser-known parts of Whittier College, and the second a paranormal investigation that transforms the space into an active border, compelling the living and the dead to inhabit the in-between. While I still intend to keep the second part, I have been challenged to reimagine the PARA/history of Whittier College and the lens in which it is told.
As I transition from Summer to Fall, I seek to continue learning about the other memorials of Whittier College and incorporate them into the story I wish to tell with my project. I feel exuberant for what is to come and grateful for everything that has come to pass at the Biennial. Great things are coming, and it’s only the start.
